A genre of fiction that encompasses works in which the setting is other than the real world, involving supernatural, futuristic, or other imagined elements.
Another definition:
Speculative fiction is any fiction in which the “laws” of that world (explicit or implied) are different than ours.
- Annie Neugebauer
Our world is in the midst of a pandemic on top of environmental crises, continued racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia, and other general unrest, and quite possibly the nadir of capitalism. Our way of life seems to be constantly threatened. It is therefore essential that there are spaces for people to safely step away and process all of the chaos endemic to our existing world. Science fiction and fantasy has been about the creation of stories that allow us to escape to new worlds, and also process the world we live in through a different lens. Although stories set in our world can absolutely be labeled speculative (isn't that a central tenet of any fiction?), I believe Science Fiction, Fantasy, and other genre fiction creates another layer of speculation that allows us to better understand our world as it is, as it was, and ways our world can be. With that said, many of our speculative fiction stories have reproduced and reinforced oppressive structures from our world with a different veneer. However, throughout history and even more so recently, speculative creators have built worlds that truly allow us to see our world more clearly and build possibilities of better worlds.
Afrofuturism: a cultural movement that uses the frame of science fiction and fantasy to reimagine the history of the African diaspora and to invoke a vision of a technically advanced and generally hopeful future in which black people thrive: this movement is expressed through art, cinema, literature, music, fashion, etc.
AI (Articial Intelligence): the capacity of a computer to perform operations analogous to learning and decision making in humans, as by an expert system, a program for CAD or CAM, or a program for the perception and recognition of shapes in computer vision systems.
Alternate History: a genre of fiction in which the author speculates on how the course of history might have been altered if a particular historical event had had a different outcome.
Androids: an automaton in the form of a human being.
Anime: a Japanese style of motion-picture animation, characterized by highly stylized, colorful art, futuristic settings, violence, and sexuality.
Cyberpunk: science fiction featuring extensive human interaction with supercomputers and a punk ambiance.
Dystopia: a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.
Fandom: the fans of a particular person, team, fictional series, etc. regarded collectively as a community or subculture.
Fantasy: a genre of speculative fiction set in a fictional universe, often inspired by real world myth and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became literature and drama.
Graphic Novels: a novel in the form of comic strips.
Manga: a Japanese graphic novel, characterized by highly stylized art.
Science Fiction: a form of fiction that draws imaginatively on scientific knowledge and speculation in its plot, setting, theme, etc.
Space Opera: a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, melodramatic adventure, interplanetary battles, romance, and risk-taking.
Steampunk: a subgenre of science fiction and fantasy featuring advanced machines and other technology based on steam power of the 19th century and taking place in a recognizable historical period or a fantasy world.
Utopia: any visionary system of political or social perfection.